Princess Cristina

A Spanish judge has ordered the leader of the anti-corruption group that filed tax fraud charges against Princess Cristina jailed without bail amid allegations the group sought a payoff of 3 million euros (USD 3.4 million) to drop the case and end her ongoing trial.

Spain's Princess Cristina, the country's first royal to face criminal charges since the monarchy's 1975 restoration, today took the stand in a landmark corruption case centred on her husband's business dealings.

Spain`s King Felipe VI has issued a decree stripping his sister Princess Cristina of her title as Duchess of Palma, the palace announced Thursday, as the royal sibling faces tax evasion charges in a scandal that has embarrassed the monarchy.

Cristina de Borbon, sister of Spain`s King Felipe VI, has been ordered to stand trial on charges of tax fraud, the High Court of the Balearic Islands said on Monday, prolonging the embarrassment of the royal family which has sought to distance itself from a corruption probe.

Princess Cristina's husband should be tried for fraud and embezzlement, but there's no basis for charges against her, a prosecutor said on Tuesday in a corruption probe that has weighed heavily on Spain's royal family.

A Spanish court on Wednesday upheld corruption charges against Cristina de Borbon, sister of newly-crowned King Felipe VI, and her husband in one of the last steps before a trial that could cloud the monarchy`s bid to rebuild its reputation.

Spain`s Princess Cristina, daughter of King Juan Carlos, will appear before a Palma de Mallorca court to testify over tax fraud and money-laundering charges she denies but has decided not to appeal, her lawyers said on Saturday.